This invention relate to coin dispensing apparatuses.
In one example of a conventional coin dispensing apparatus, a sector-shaped operating plate is disposed bellow two juxtaposed coin tubes, and the operating plate is turned by a drive motor so that a coin dispensing outlet is aligned with the coin tube from which coins should be dispensed, to allow the coins in the coin tube to be dispensed.
However, the operating plate cannot be used to dispense coins from more than two juxtaposed coin tubes. Accordingly, in the case of dispensing coins out of a number of juxtaposed coin tubes, it is necessary to provide one operating plate for every two coin tubes and to drive these operating plate individually. Accordingly, it is necessary to provide a number of drive motors, and accordingly its coin dispensing mechanism is intricate. Thus, it is rather difficult to assemble such a coin dispensing apparatus, and the manufactured apparatus is high in cost.
It may be difficult to provide a number of drive motors because of an available space, and accordingly the number of coin tubes is necessarily limited. If the number of coin tubes is small, then the number of pieces of coins contained in the coin tubes is also small, and accordingly a shortage of change is liable to occur. In addition, this construction cannot satisfactorily deal with the dispensation of coins in various denominations.
Furthermore, in the conventional coin dispensing apparatus, its coin tube is fixed thereto, and therefore it is considerably difficult to supply coins additionally when required. The inspection and maintenance of a coin dispensing mechanism disposed below the coin tube are so difficult that the inspection and maintenance are often disregarded. Therefore, for instance, dirty coins make movable parts of the apparatus unserviceable. As the coin tube is fixed to the dispensing apparatus as described above, in order to change the denominations of dispensing coins, it is necessary to change not only the coin tube but also the dispensing mechanism. Furthermore, in the inspection and maintenance of the dispensing apparatus, it is necessary to remove the coins in the coin tube one at a time by operating the dispensing apparatus before the coin tube is disassembled from the apparatus. This is undoubtedly troublesome.
A coin dispensing apparatus used with an automatic vender is provided with a change dispensing tube. When the number of coins in the tube is reduced to a predetermined value, then coins are supplied into the change dispensing tube from an auxiliary coin tube. In such a coin dispensing apparatus, the detection of the number of coins in the coin tube is carried out as follows: An empty detector is provided at a predetermined position on the coin tube or at a predetermined position on the coin tube receiving compartment of the dispensing apparatus, to detect the number of coins in the coin tube.
However, in the case where the empty detector is provided on the coin tube as described above, the removal of the coin tube for inspection and maintenance is difficult because of the wiring extended to the apparatus body. In the case where the empty detector is provided on the coin tube receiving compartment of the apparatus body, a coin tube which can be detachably mounted in the compartment cannot snugly mounted therein because of its construction. Accordingly, it is difficult to bring the empty detector into close contact with the coin tube, with the result that the number of coins in the coin tube is often detected with errors.